Kosmos

Culture, travel, fashion and culinary delights: the Kosmos pages of Lufthansa Magazin bring you interesting and useful tidbits from around the world

Take a break from the heat

So you think city breaks in the middle of summer are a dumb idea? They’re not – as long as you choose the right city.

Festival
Fun

The climate may be harsh and the temperatures may not rise much above 20° C, but Edinburgh draws multitudes of tourists in the summer – thanks in part to its great arts festival. The International Festival and the alternative Fringe take place this year from August 4 to 28.

Turning Night Into Day

Why go to bed if it doesn’t get dark? From early June until mid-July, St. Petersburg is enveloped in a velvety twilight all night long. All manner of cultural events take place during the famous “White Nights,” including concerts and opera and theater premieres, and nobody goes to bed until dawn.

Beautiful
Sisters

Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, is perfect for a city break during the northern ­hemisphere’s summer months because its winters are so mild. Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital, is also well worth a visit – and it’s only a ferry ride away across the Rio de la Plata river.

It takes two…

The best place to see and learn to dance the tango is Buenos Aires, where the sensual dance was born and where the annual International Tango Festival and world championships take place (August 9 – 22).

Towering talent

A master poised between Classicism and Avantgarde: MoMA New York is showing sculptures (photo: “Endless Column”) and photographs by the Romanian-French artist Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1957) through the end of February next year.

Big beat time

With their eclectic mix of house, hip-hop and indie pop, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, aka The Chemical Brothers, can still whip up a storm on the dance floor two decades on. The Manchester band’s videos and light shows are legendary. Catch them live in Munich on Aug. 17.